- 9 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Viewers like you make this program possible.
00:03Support your local PBS station.
00:38Incredible ingenuity, dedication, and extraordinary teamwork.
00:46This is what it takes to be a parent on our planet.
00:52Meet the hard-working parents, raising their families, doing all they can to protect and provide for the next generation.
01:07Discover the extraordinary ways animal parents navigate their world.
01:13But a changing planet is forcing them to adapt.
01:18Success for all parents has perhaps the greatest of consequences.
01:26It ensures the future of life on Earth.
01:32This is parenthood.
01:58A newly born bottlenose dolphin, its skin still creased by the tightness of the womb from which it has only
02:07just emerged.
02:22Its mother is devoted to it and will care for it for the next five years.
02:31That is an unusually long time for any ocean-going animal.
02:40Most marine creatures simply abandon their young as soon as they appear.
02:48But those who care for them do so in some very remarkable ways.
03:08Coral reefs occupy less than one percent of the floor of the world's oceans.
03:15But they provide homes for over a quarter of all marine species.
03:25Indonesia's reefs are among the most diverse on Earth.
03:29Over 2,000 species of fish live here and most reproduce in the simplest of ways.
03:39Females release their eggs and the males rush in and fertilize them.
03:46The young are then swept away and few, if any, will meet their parents again.
03:56But one fish behaves very differently.
04:01The Bangai cardinal fish.
04:07The adults spend most of their time among sea urchins.
04:12Protected to some degree by the urchin's spines.
04:20When a female is ready to spawn, she leads a male away from the shoal.
04:32She displays to him, quivering her distended fins.
04:41And then she releases a mass of eggs, which he cakes into his mouth.
04:55He hasn't swallowed them.
04:58On the contrary, he is protecting them.
05:07But for the next four weeks, he won't be able to eat.
05:19Starvation, however, is the least of his worries.
05:26There are predators around.
05:31Of many kinds.
05:44An unguarded baby fish would be quickly eaten.
05:48So the hatchlings stay inside their father's mouth.
05:57This anemone could provide the male with a home.
06:01For although its tentacles have stings, he is immune to them.
06:07But his predators are not.
06:11The resident anemone fish is also immune.
06:15But this one doesn't welcome strangers.
06:25This anemone, however, seems to have vacancies.
06:30The male picks his moment to leave the safety of the urchin's spines.
06:44Here?
06:46He's not alone.
06:57But this anemone fish doesn't mind sharing.
07:04He has found a new home for his young.
07:14But they seem unwilling to leave his mouth.
07:22So he gives them a little encouragement.
07:46But there's always one who is reluctant to leave.
07:53But there's always one who is reluctant to leave.
07:58Here, among the anemones tentacles, they will remain until an urchin appears who has vacancies.
08:10His 30 days of fasting have given his young an excellent start in life.
08:20But parental responsibilities extend far beyond providing shelter for the mammals that live around the reef.
08:38A bottlenose dolphin mother spends five years showing her calf the skills necessary for survival.
08:48And she does so through play.
08:54Her lessons start with a trick.
08:58First, balance a piece of coral on your nose.
09:09Second, take it up to the surface.
09:15Third, drop it.
09:20And then, before it reaches the bottom,
09:28catch it.
09:36All adults can perform this trick.
09:42Perfecting it is, therefore, a rite of passage for this calf.
09:52First, balance the coral.
10:01This is not easy.
10:05Try again.
10:14Step one, balance the coral.
10:22Or bite it.
10:25And skip to step two.
10:31Now, get it.
10:58Got it.
11:00Just in time.
11:01Just in time.
11:03There are also other, more important skills that a calf must learn.
11:10The mother leads her youngster to one particular kind of coral that is almost hidden.
11:18One that has a special, extraordinary characteristic.
11:25It produces antifungal chemicals which dolphins rub on their skin.
11:33These dolphins, remarkably, medicate themselves.
11:38And they pass on this knowledge to their young.
11:42are the one who has taken care of at ground or problems.
11:52They are all very old.
11:55They are all very old, deeply sized and very old.
12:03If you are alive, they are all very old.
12:09But one, do not have to die.
12:17The south coast of Australia.
12:22Here, the shallow sea for 5,000 miles is carpeted by dense seaweed.
12:35These underwater meadows thrive in the cold, turbulent water.
12:48And one remarkable fish has evolved here and exists nowhere else, the weedy sea dragon.
13:01It's marvellously camouflaged and an exceptionally dedicated parent.
13:13In spring, male and female dance together.
13:21They mirror each other's actions.
13:41He seals their bond by attaching her eggs to his tail.
13:50The eggs are bright pink and make him dangerously conspicuous.
14:15But within a few weeks, the eggs become covered by algae.
14:22And that makes them less obvious.
14:32After six weeks, his parenting duties come to an end.
14:38The baby dragons begin to hatch.
14:48They're just half an inch long.
14:52Perfect miniatures of their parents.
15:00They share their micro-world with one of the strangest creatures in the seas.
15:10Skeleton shrimps.
15:13They're seldom noticed, but they live in oceans worldwide.
15:21They're armed with formidable weapons.
15:24And they are remarkably attentive parents.
15:32About 25 juveniles cling to their mother until they're strong enough to grip the seaweed.
15:43She needs to feed them.
15:46And the best food is at the top of the seaweed.
15:54And that is where she takes them.
16:03Carrying as many young as this is exhausting.
16:10And if she stops, she risks everything.
16:18She falls onto an urchin,
16:21which catches her with its tube feet
16:24and starts transporting her towards its mouth.
16:35But she wriggles free
16:36and resumes her climb.
16:47Skeleton shrimps live in colonies.
16:50And compete for the best feeding places.
16:57Skeleton shrimps live in colonies.
17:04And compete for the best feeding places.
17:12Skeleton shrimps live in colonies.
17:13This looks good.
17:15And she waits for something edible to drift by.
17:22This mycid is big enough to provide a meal
17:26for the shrimps' entire brood.
17:41Her young clamber over her head
17:45to claim a share.
17:53Once fed, they leave,
17:56and the vaccines is clean.
17:57giving her a break from the responsibilities of motherhood.
18:06Seaweed wherever it grows,
18:09provides animals with both food and shelter.
18:16The Shetlands, the northernmost of the British Isles.
18:22It has the densest population of Eurasian otters in the world.
18:31These three cubs are five months old.
18:36They're still totally dependent on their mother for food.
18:47She finds it in the seaweed,
18:52where there are great numbers of small fish.
19:01The fish are well camouflaged and not easy to see.
19:13But she uses her whiskers to feel for them.
19:17The Shetlands
19:31Otter mothers usually produce one or two cubs at a time.
19:36Triplets, like these, are extremely rare.
19:39And each cub needs to eat a quarter of its body weight every day.
19:47So this mother has to catch a lot of food.
20:04She must also feed well herself, if she is to survive the winter.
20:22The youngsters squabble over every fish.
20:37The biggest and most vigorous cub is the first to get food.
20:42And the smallest often goes hungry.
20:50This small male, however, decides to fish for himself.
20:55And joins his mother farther out to sea.
21:04He's caught something.
21:07Unfortunately, it's something that bites back.
21:17It's a crab.
21:20Which is easy to catch, but not very nutritious.
21:28His mother has been too busy to notice.
21:33That he has strayed.
21:42And now, he is lost.
22:04Over a quarter of otter cubs don't survive their first year.
22:12Many because they lose touch with their mothers.
22:25All he can do is to keep calling.
22:28All he can do is to keep calling.
22:53All he can do is to keep calling.
22:57All he can do is to keep calling.
23:12Winter in Shetland is very cold.
23:16And life becomes hard for otters, both old and young.
23:27The bigger the cubs grow, the more food they need.
23:30And soon, she will leave them to find food for themselves.
23:48California's Channel Islands
23:50are surrounded by one of the richest of marine nurseries.
23:58A forest of giant kelp.
24:09This area has now been declared a marine reserve,
24:13where fishing is totally banned.
24:23As a consequence, over a thousand different species of animals now live here.
24:33Among them, giant sea bass, which elsewhere are critically endangered.
24:44On the floor of this submarine forest lives a particularly territorial species.
24:53A Garibaldi.
24:55This male has built his nest in the center of his territory.
25:00And here, he cultivates a particular kind of red algae.
25:08He carefully prunes it,
25:11so that the females can lay their eggs on it.
25:22Several have already done that.
25:25So now, he has a potential brood of over a hundred and fifty thousand.
25:33He devotes his time to keeping the eggs free from algae
25:37and driving off hungry intruders.
26:00Some visitors, however, are so big, they're best ignored.
26:08Some visitors, however, are so big, they're best ignored.
26:11however, is in fact relatively tiny.
26:19A little blue-banded goby,
26:25which takes advantage of the constant intruders
26:32to steal the Garibaldi's eggs.
26:44But the biggest threat of all comes from the sea urchins.
26:52They eat virtually everything in their path,
26:57from the nest of a Garibaldi to the entire kelp forest.
27:07He does all he can to keep the urchins away.
27:19His neighbours help.
27:24Inside the reserve,
27:26there are enough fish to keep urchin numbers in check.
27:36But the reserve is tiny.
27:42Outside it, humans have caught most of the fish
27:46that once kept downert in numbers.
27:58And that, combined with an ever-warming sea,
28:02has created a plague of urchins
28:05that have devastated the sea floor.
28:12They have destroyed the kelp forests
28:15along great stretches of California's coast.
28:20And now, we ourselves are adding to that damage
28:24by using our seas as dumping grounds for our waste.
28:34Many animals have changed their parental behaviour
28:37in order to survive in this new world.
28:45Pale octopus are relatively short-lived.
28:50And this female has just over a year
28:54in which to breed and raise her young.
29:04To do that, she has to find a safe den.
29:19She must choose carefully.
29:22Good dens are rare.
29:30A discarded toilet could perhaps serve...
29:36But this one is engaged.
29:42And is already being fought over.
29:48A squirt from its owner's ink sack
29:51makes things clear.
29:55She keeps looking.
29:59Many of the available den sites are too exposed.
30:07She wants somewhere a little more secluded.
30:13This plastic pipe is also occupied...
30:19by a male.
30:29But he...
30:30is signalling his readiness to breed.
30:47But he...
30:49is signalling his readiness to breed.
31:13It's an irresistible performance.
31:16It's an irresistible performance.
31:20It's an irresistible performance.
31:21So she inspects his den.
31:38It may not look like much...
31:40but to her, apparently, it will do.
31:44It will be a good thing.
31:49It will do.
31:50He nudges her...
31:51into his home.
31:58She gives his den...
32:00and him...
32:01her seal of approval...
32:03and the two mate.
32:12A few days later, she starts laying her eggs inside the pipe.
32:19She will eventually produce about 500 of them.
32:35She strokes them with her suckers, to keep them clear of algae.
32:45Her home will hide her, and is easy to defend.
32:55But laying her eggs will be the last act of her life.
33:02All octopus mothers die in their dens.
33:17As her eggs hatch, she takes her young in her arms.
33:25And uses her siphon to propel them to independence.
33:30.
33:59In the year-long
34:01lives, 13 million tons of plastic will have been dumped onto their ocean homes.
34:12Her final resting place was the home that she set out to find, but perhaps not the grave
34:20that anyone might consider appropriate for such a dedicated parent.
34:30As our seas change, those species with sufficient intelligence to adapt are finding new ways
34:38to support their offspring.
34:44And there are few sea creatures more inventive in their search for food than killer whales.
35:01They are powerful, swift and agile, but the key to their success lies beyond their physicality.
35:18It comes from their sociability and the way they use their complex relationships to teach
35:24one another.
35:28Each family is led by its grandmother, the matriarch.
35:38She may live into her 80s, far beyond the age of producing calves of her own.
35:46But her responsibilities as a leader never cease.
35:55She plays a key part in teaching them all how to hunt.
36:05She initiates a chase.
36:10And the rest of the family join her.
36:31But this is not a game.
36:39One deliberately stops swimming in order to enable the others to practice a particular skill.
36:49They push it beneath the surface and submerge its blowhole to prevent it from breathing.
37:00They are practicing the actions they will use to drown their prey.
37:08And these orca need to be on top of their game.
37:15They hunt the largest animals that have ever lived.
37:21Blue whales.
37:25Such prey are too big for most orca to tackle.
37:31But this matriarch has found one.
37:47The blue whale seems to have been caught off guard.
37:53Working as a team, the orca keep their victim's blowhole beneath the surface.
38:03Exactly as the matriarch taught them to do.
38:24The hunting of blue whales by orca has only recently been documented.
38:31A new behavior that is a response to changes in their ocean home.
38:43But many animals today are finding it hard to change their habits.
38:52A trawler fishing off the coast of South Africa.
38:56A trawler fishing off the coast of South Africa.
38:58It has attracted thousands of seabirds.
39:04And hundreds of fur seals.
39:08The trawler's presence illustrates the problem that all these animals are now facing.
39:16They're having to compete for their food with us.
39:26This trawler has collected its fish from the ocean's depths.
39:35But such fish are low in nutrients.
39:40They're junk food for the birds and the seals.
39:47The trawler fishing off the coast of South Africa.
39:52The trawler fishing off the coast of South Africa.
39:52An adult Cape Gannet male is flying in this crowd.
39:57He's picked up what he can.
39:59And now he must begin the long flight back to his family.
40:13His home is Malhas Island.
40:16The world's second largest Cape Gannet colony.
40:29Using his own particular call, he locates his lifelong partner and their chick.
40:57But the fish he has scavenged doesn't contain enough energy to nourish his chick.
41:06Gannet chicks need rich, oily foods such as sardines and anchovies.
41:12The natural prey of these Gannets.
41:17As the parents change guard, the mother takes her turn and heads out to sea.
41:25She must find suitable food if their chick is to survive.
41:37Cape Gannets have nested on Malhas Island for generations.
41:44But due to our overfishing, the Gannets must now fly further out to sea to find what they need.
42:09At last, a hopeful sign.
42:14Common dolphins.
42:22The gallant mother knows they will lead her to food.
42:33And she's not alone.
42:47Sardines.
42:52She dives at 50 miles an hour.
43:00But fails to catch anything.
43:07The dolphins now encircle the sardines.
43:14And drive them upwards, trapping them against the surface.
43:21For the Gannets, it's the time to strike.
43:41They dive as deep as 65 feet.
43:53The mother makes one last dive.
43:59And catches one more fish.
44:10Now she has enough food for her chick.
44:13mm.
44:22Oh.
44:26oh!
44:47This hard-won meal is the last she will give this chick.
45:03It's now ready for independence.
45:12The chick makes its way to the edge of the colony, where the wind is strongest.
45:21But first, she has to find her way through 40,000 neighbors.
45:33She joins dozens of others, all preparing for their first flight.
45:47She watches others make their attempts.
45:52Those who catch the wind lift off and are away.
45:59Those who don't have to face the fury of the Atlantic Ocean.
46:14And great danger lurks beneath the waves.
46:30Cape fur seals.
46:49Gannets aren't usually taken by seals, but in this depleted ocean, prey of any kind is worth having.
47:20The food she took from her parents will only sustain her for a further day or so.
47:29She waits for a gust of wind.
47:49Her timing is not good.
47:55She has to be elmered.
48:03She is the man.
48:04The fishingroads of the sea.
48:07She is over.
48:13It's almost a while.
48:14The bee is the king's.
48:15The bee is orange.
48:15The bee is yellow.
48:15It's not good.
48:18The bee is the queen's.
48:19The bee is the queen's.
48:21It's the bee is a dragon.
48:31Safe in the shallows.
48:36Few get such a second chance.
48:53She must try again.
49:31She's made it.
49:40The depleted ocean will remain a hugely challenging place for her.
49:47But the oceans are ecologically very resilient.
49:52And they can recover faster than any other habitat on Earth,
49:57given the right protection.
50:00Gannet parents stay together for life up to 20 years.
50:06If their ocean home is given the chance to recover,
50:10the vast shoals of fish on which so many depend
50:13could reappear within the lifetime of these parents.
50:19And they could live to see a brighter future.
50:23The end.
50:29The end.
50:59Transcription by CastingWords
51:22Transcription by CastingWords
Comments